GRAND BLANC, Mich.

FOR RELEASE: July 1, 2002

Perry To Defend Buick Open Title

Els, Goosen, Olazabal Also Among Early Commitments

GRAND BLANC, Mich. -- Buick announced today that 2001 Buick Open Champion Kenny Perry will defend his title at the 2002 Buick Open, August 5 -11, at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club.

Perry, who will turn 42 on Aug. 10, fired a 25-under-par 263 (66-64-64-69) to capture the 2001 Buick Open and earn his first PGA Tour victory in six years. Perry finished two shots better than Chris DiMarco and Jim Furyk.

The Buick Open title, which earned Perry $558,000, spurred him on to his first million dollar season ($1,786,066) and pushed his career earnings to $7,628,415 by the end of the 2001 season.

"We're excited that Kenny Perry will be back with us to defend his Buick Open title," said Larry Peck, Buick golf marketing manager. "He is a great champion and a very classy individual. We look forward to having him back in Grand Blanc this year."

Other early commitments for the 2002 Buick Open include Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Joe Maria Olazabal, the 2002 Buick Invitational defending champion.

Els, 32, is scheduled to make his fifth appearance at the Buick Open. His best finish was in 1997 when he tied for second place with five other players. Els, who has nine career PGA Tour wins, will be making his first appearance at the Buick Open since 1999 when he finished sixth. He finished tied for third in 1995 and tied for 38th place in 1996.

Goosen, 33, is slated to make his third appearance at the Buick Open. He played Warwick Hills in 1997 and 2001, missing the cut both times. Goosen, who has two career PGA Tour wins, including the 2001 U.S. Open and the 2002 BellSouth Classic, finished second at the 2002 Masters.

Olazabal, 36, will be making his fourth consecutive appearance at the Buick Open and will try to make his first cut at the tournament. He has six career PGA Tour wins, including the Masters twice (1994 and 1999) and the 2002 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla, Calif.

These and many other PGA Tour players, including 2001 Buick Challenge champion Chris DiMarco, will compete in the 2002 Buick Open for a record purse of $3.3 million, including the $584,000 winner's share. Players have until Friday, August 2 to commit to play in the tournament.

The first and second rounds of the 2002 Buick Open will be televised on the Golf Channel and Fox Sports Net, while weekend coverage can be seen on CBS Sports. For Buick Open tickets and information, call 1 (800) 878-OPEN (6736) or go to www.buickopen.pgatour.com.

Now in its fifth decade as the PGA Tour's largest corporate sponsor, Buick is title-sponsor of four PGA Tour events: The Buick Invitational (Feb. 4-10, La Jolla, Calif.); the Buick Classic (June 3-9, Harrison, N.Y.); the Buick Open; and the Buick Challenge (October 21-27, Pine Mountain, Ga.). Buick is also the presenting sponsor of the Tampa Bay Classic (Sept. 16-22, Palm Harbor, Fla.) and an official sponsor of the domestic events of the World Golf Championships. In January, Buick assumed title-sponsorship of the Buick Scramble, the world's largest amateur golf tournament with more than 100,000 participants each year. The official car of the PGA Tour since 1984, Buick sponsors four touring professionals - Tiger Woods, David Berganio Jr., J.J. Henry and Matt Gogel.

Through its four PGA Tour events, Buick has raised more than $23 million for local charities.